A Day in the Life: Audible Employee Raphael Cedeno

For Raphael Cedeno, Senior Global Program Manager for Customer Care, each day is “fresh and dynamic” as he helps develop innovative experiences for Audible’s customers. When not being customer obsessed, he loves to experiment with new cuisines, whipping up amazing meals at home with his wife or heading out to sample a new restaurant with her and their two daughters.

Describe in 20 words or less what you do…

I represent our customer’s voice and passion for Audible. I harness my energy to prioritize and execute the initiatives that drive Customer Care forward so we can continue to provide a distinctive experience for our customers.

Favorite part of your job?

Can I have two favorites? For one, I get to work alongside some truly talented individuals, some of whom I’ve grown up with over the last decade. Their intelligence, commitment and passion to build innovative experiences for our customers continues to keep me enthralled and motivated to do more.

Secondly, I love how each day is brand new. For as long as I have been here, you might expect things to get redundant, but in Customer Care, each day brings unexpected new challenges. I get to serve as an extension of our customers’ voice, and there’s nothing more powerful than that. With our customers’ best interest in mind, I enjoy the responsibility of partnering with my colleagues to foster new ideas and bring them to fruition to help grow Audible’s Customer Care into the future. Every day is fresh and dynamic, which keeps me inspired and eager to take on whatever crosses my desk.

Biggest challenge you/your team face?

We live in a fascinating time where technology continues to rapidly evolve and our expectations as customers follow suit. It’s a combination of being able to not just meet but exceed our customers’ expectations by providing them a level of service that really raises the bar. And to do so requires an extensive amount of effort to develop an experience that is distinctive and provides our customers with the support they truly deserve.

Can you share an example of how you are bringing our People Principles to life?

Customer Obsession is ingrained in Customer Care—it’s a part of our identity. But the work we do goes beyond that one principle. Within my role, I also bring Articulate the Possible and Move Fast to Make it Real to life every day. I’m working alongside my colleagues to dive into the details and foster quick and effective solutions, facilitate brainstorming sessions, review operational metrics and listen to customer calls to develop a comprehensive strategy that has cultivated an amazing customer service experience. Then I use my strong knowledge of Audible products, the organization and project management to push my team members and the entire global Customer Care organization toward the finish line.

Outside of Audible, you love to…

Share new experiences with my family. My wife and I have been blessed with two lovely daughters and we are absolutely obsessed with them. We are both foodies, and in addition to venturing to new restaurants, we love to combine forces in the kitchen and experiment with new cuisines. But I certainly can’t take all of the credit as my wife is the true talent when it comes to expanding our palates. And I say “our” because we are not shy about ensuring our daughters are exposed to the wondrous flavors of the world. Our youngest has only recently embarked on her journey, but our oldest does not have the traditional cravings other 2 ½-year-olds would have and we love enhancing her palate and appreciation of food. And the apple doesn’t fall from the tree either—she has recently started to stand on our kitchen chair to cook alongside us and she’s getting really good at it.

What are you currently listening to?

I am a member of the Customer Care sci-fi/fantasy book club, “Dumbledore’s Armada” (you can never get over Harry Potter). I have always been a fan of science-fiction and the club inspires its members to venture out of their comfort zone and explore new areas in such a vast genre. I have shamelessly been leveraging everyone’s diverse interests to find my latest obsession. While we don’t normally listen to an entire series, I just can’t start a series without finishing it! So I’ve been on a generous hiatus from the club’s current listen to complete Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles. I’m near the end of the series which is bittersweet, but I’ve enjoyed every single minute of the ride. I’ve even taken time to listen to some of the spin-off content because it is all based around Atticus’s (main character) noble satirical companion, Oberon. His character and witty remarks have made me burst out laughing during my commute on too many occasions.